N.Y. to increase fines for texting while driving

The state budget will raise the penalties for multiple violators to up to $400.

Freshman student Ben Fisher texts and virtually drives in the Texting and Driving Simulator at Central York High School on March 8 in Springettsbury Township, Pa.(Photo: Sonya Paclob, York Daily Record via AP)

Story Highlights

Ban on texting while driving was signed in 2011

Fines would rise from $200 for two infractions in 18 months to $400 for three or more

Budget also increases fine for first offense of talking on a cellphone without a hands-free device

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Not only is it unsafe to text and drive, but in New York, it will soon cost you more if you get caught.

The New York budget set to be approved this week will increase the penalties for texting while driving and talking on a cellphone, hiking the fee for multiple violators to up to $400.

The legislation also increases the fine for talking on a cellphone without a hands-free device from $100 to $150 for a first offense, making it consistent with the first-time fine for texting while driving.

"It's the law, and people have to follow the law, and if they don't follow the law, I think we have to do something to impress upon them that it's the wrong thing to do," said David Gantt, a Democrat from Rochester who is the Assembly Transportation Committee chairman.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill to ban texting-while-driving in 2011 after a number of fatal accidents involving teenagers who were texting behind the wheel. An original law in 2009 made texting while driving a secondary infraction and didn't allow police to pull someone over specifically for it. But the 2011 law made it a primary offense, and texting-while-driving tickets have soared since.

The 2011 law also increased the penalty for using a handheld device while driving from two to three points on a license.

From January 2012 through November 2012, police issued nearly 26,000 texting-while-driving violations -- compared with about 9,000 in all of 2011. The most in 2012 outside New York City was in Erie County, which includes Buffalo. Police issued about 1,400 tickets in Erie County between January and November. Second was Monroe County, which encompasses the Rochester area, at about 900, followed by Suffolk County and Westchester County, which issued about 700.

The budget change would increase the fines for distracted driving to up to a $200 fine for two infractions within 18 months and up to $400 for three or more offenses in 18 months.

"Distracted drivers jeopardize the safety of everyone on the road; they are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than a regular driver," said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Fuschillo, a Republican from Nassau County, in a statement.

The budget also bolsters regulations that prohibit commercial drivers from using electronic devices and talking on a cellphone while stopped in traffic.

Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for AAA New York, said the proposals are positive steps toward limiting distracted driving.

"Given the severity of the distraction that comes from texting while driving, we think it's a good piece of legislation," he said.